Oleg Valeryevich Kukhta (russian: link=no, Олег Валерьевич Кухта, born 27 December 1970) is a Russian singer-songwriter, actor, former Spetsnaz GRU officer, and military intelligence man. He was titled an Honored Artist of Russia in 2008.

Early life

Oleg Kukhta was born 27 December 1970 in

Kinel-Cherkassy Kinel-Cherkassy (russian: Кинель-Черкассы) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Kinel-Cherkassky District, Samara Oblast, Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transconti ...

, Samara Oblast,

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

. When he was four years old, his family moved to Pervouralsk in

Sverdlovsk Oblast Sverdlovsk Oblast ( rus, Свердловская область, Sverdlovskaya oblast) is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia located in the Ural Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Yekaterinburg, formerly known as S ...

Military career

In 1988, he began his studies at ''the Higher Airborne Command School (Military Institute)'' in Ryazan. In 1990–1992 he interrupted his studies for service in the army. 1992–1993 he took part in the peacekeeping mission in the

Republic of Serbian Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sh, Република Српска Крајина, italics=no / or РСК / ''RSK'', ), known as the Serbian Krajina ( / ) or simply Krajina, was a self-proclaimed Serb proto-state, ...

. 1994–1996 he continued his studies at ''the Higher Airborne Command School'' in Ryazan and at ''the Military Command Academy'' in

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

. He then took part in the

First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also known as the First Chechen Campaign,, rmed conflict in the Chechen Republic and on bordering territories of the Russian FederationФедеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 1995 (в реда� ...

(1994 to 1996) as commander of Spetsnaz GRU group. During the war he carried out many military operations, suffered a severe wound and was awarded the

Order of Courage The Order of Courage may refer to: * , a state decoration of the partially recognized republic of Abkhazia * Order of Courage (Iran), a state decoration of Iran * Order of Courage (Russia) The Order of Courage (russian: Орден Мужес ...

and medals. In 1999, he finished his military career and became a senior lieutenant in the Spetsnaz reserve.

Musical career

He began his artistic career as an amateur singer during military service. In 1994, he became the first winner and 1995 Grand Prix winner of the All-Russian Military Song Festival "Victoria". In 1999, he performed in the International Festival "Slavyanskiy Bazar" in Vitebsk, and was awarded with a diploma. After completion of the military career he went from 1999 to 2012 as a soloist of the ''Academic song and dance ensemble of Internal Forces of Ministry of Internal Affairs''. In 2005 he graduated from the

Russian Academy of Theatre Arts The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) (russian: Российский институт театрального искусства – ГИТИС) is the largest and oldest independent drama school, theatrical arts school in Russia. Locat ...

in Moscow and got the same year the title of ''Honored Artist of

North Ossetia-Alania North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

''. In 2008, he was titled an Honored Artist of Russia. Since 2011 he is soloist of the Orchestra of Russian Interior Ministry and began his solo career.

Discography

*2000: "Армейский сборник 2" (Song ''Шинели'') *2003: "Doswidanja. Ich komm wieder" (Song ''O Happy Day'') *2003: "Академический ансамбль песни и пляски внутренних войск МВД России" (Song ''Be My Love'') *2008: "Академический ансамбль песни и пляски внутренних войск МВД России" (Songs ''Be My Love, O Happy Day, The Prayer, На дальнем берегу, Piu Che Puo'') *2010: "Помяни меня, поле. 65 лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне" (Album) *2010: "Русское поле. 65 лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне" (Album)

Filmography

* 2005: "Not Born Beautiful" / "Не родись красивой" * 2007: "The Unknown Country" / "Незнакомая земля" *2007: "The Teacher in Law" / "Учитель в законе" *2011: "The Prosecutor's Investigation" / "Прокурорская проверка» *2011: "The Family Dramas" / "Семейные драмы» *2011: "Before The Court" /"До суда»

Awards

*Honored Artist of

North Ossetia–Alania The Republic of North Ossetia–Alania; os, Республикӕ Цӕгат Ирыстон — Алани, ''Respublikæ Cægat Iryston — Alani'', ) is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. Its population acco ...

* Honored Artist of Russia *

*Medal "For service in the North Caucasus» *Medal " Army General Margelov" *Medal " For Participation in Counterterrorism Operations" *Medal " 200 Years of the Ministry of Internal Affairs" * United Nations Special Service Medal *Medal "80 Years of Airborne Forces of Russia»

References

External links

*
Official blogOleg Kukhta on MySpaceOleg Kukhta on TwitterOleg Kukhta on Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kukhta, Oleg 1970 births Living people People from Samara Oblast Russian male singer-songwriters Russian pop singers Russian military personnel People of the Chechen wars Recipients of the Order of Courage Honored Artists of the Russian Federation 21st-century Russian male singers 21st-century Russian singers